Building a Lasting Life
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
How many of you saw the storm last night?
How many of you got water in your basement.
My wife was at a birthday party for one of the little boys in my daughters class. It’s only he and one other boys in a class full of girls.
As she was leaving the party, I’m over at my brothers house installing a countertop and I get a call from a buddy of mine being like, get your kids indoors and in the basement there’s a tornado and then my wife calls me from her car and she is leaving this birthday and she and this other lady are yelling at each other from their cars to see if she wanted to follow her and my wife’s voice was elevated because the storm was crazy and I remember thinking, man i wish i could be out in the storm.
You are called to be a builder
You are called to be a builder
A Kingdom requires builders
Matthew 7:24–27 (ESV)
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
From the beginning God took the raw material of the earth and created something purposeful.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God takes the raw material and forms something
Builders take the raw material of creation and create something useful and purposeful.
Mothers tend to build a home,
Fathers are called to build
Employers build a business.
Building a home is in our nature. God commands us to take raw materials apply our brains and figure out how to create something useable.
We are called to take the raw materials, just like God did and make them into something creative and purposeful.
That’s why its weird when someone who’s young doesn’t work. Because it isn’t who you were meant to be.
When a child comes out of the womb, that’s as real and raw as a human being will get. They know nothing,
The Tale of Two Builders
The Tale of Two Builders
Builder DO, they act, they build, they construct. It takes precision and can be complicated at times but the most important part of any home is the foundation.
Everyone is a builder.
We all build different things in our lives, whether you are a believer or not.
It is in our DNA, it’s is apart of who we are as people.
Imagine being the first guy to walk past a cow and think, I wonder what those are?
Similarities and Differences in the builders.
Both are builders
Both know how to build
Both can construct a house that is livable
The backdrop for chapter 7 in Proverbs 6:6-8 (Craig Blomberg, CNTUOT)
Proverbs 6:6–8 (ESV)
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
Jesus is concerned with people putting his teachings into practice.
Jesus doesn’t just want to have people listen to his great podcast but he wants them to live it out.
It’s like an ant, they work hard to gather and prepare, they aren’t like the sluggard who hears and doesn’t apply it.
It goes back to last week, we are better at being consumers than we are at being seekers.
Jesus wants us to ask so we can receive, he wants us to seek so we can find, he wants us to knock so the door will be opened.
The foundation is the decision that takes place before the building.
THis is a common theme throughout the Old Testament and specifically in the wisdom literature.
25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever.
7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.
11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
Good Intentions aren’t Good foundations.
Good Intentions aren’t Good foundations.
Building your House on the Rock
Foundation - themelio - establish,
Good intentions don’t make good foundations
Hospital in Iquitos Peru
It was built by a wealthy man who wanting to create something beneficial to the whole community so he built a ten story hospital.
He sunk everything he had into it, this was his life’s work. But his foundation was bad so the building immediately began to sink. the government came in and made it so no one could go inside of it.
It never opened and to this day sits vacant.
The man lived in it for the rest of his life on the top floor until one day he jumped out and fell to his death.
That building stands to this day as a reminder that good intentions don’t equate to good building foundations.
Building your house on the Sand
It’s not good enough
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Good intentions aren’t God’s intentions
If you want to have a miserable life as a young person, plug your ears right now and don’t listen to what I’m about to say.
Relationships - You might have good intentions in a relationship and think it might work out but maybe your dating a guy or girl that isn’t following the Lord.
God’s foundations are built upon Godly relationships.
Pursue Christ now and do what he says here and you will put yourself in position to identify a Godly man.
This guy just sits on the couch and watches football and never sacrifices for me.
He isn’t really committed, he wont even ask me to marry him.
If your dating a guy like that run. he needs to get serious with Jesus.
If you[ve been dating a while and he’s a descent guy and he’s making strides (Some of us guys need time) you need to flip him the bird..s cousin the ring finger
If you have to make excuses for them, that’s a good sign they aren’t leading you to Jesus.
Here’s why it matters
Where you build your home will have lasting impact not only on yourself but your family.
Homes aren’t built for single bachelors or bachelorettes. Homes are built for families.
When a home is built on the sand and the storms come, the destruction will be huge. It has major effects on the family and the children of those who inside.
If your relationship isn't built on the foundation of Christ and his work then when your house falls, and trust me it will, Great or Mega will be its fall. It will have hug e implications.
Just because there is no storm today doesn’t mean there wont be a storm tomorrow.
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
“Great was the fall of it” - The Greek word for great is Mega, which means large. loud, it even can denote terror.
Some of you need to call up the YHWH house moving service and you need to get the ibeams under the home and move your home to a new foundation.
The Storms reveal the foundation
The Storms reveal the foundation
The real question is not whether they hear Christ’s teaching (nor even whether they respect or believe it), but whether they do what they hear. Only a storm will reveal the truth. (John Stott).
The rain isn’t the problem, the rain is the reality
The rain isn’t the problem, the rain is the reality
You can say all day long the right things, you can hear the right messages. But at the end of the day WHEN the storm comes, it will reveal the truth.
Reality has a way of revealing the strength of our foundation.
God will allow storms in your life to show you if your home is built on the right foundation.
Jesus is constantly giving us choices. But this isn’t just another decision, it is the decision from which all other decisions come.
It only takes one storm to find out if your foundation is bad.
Drain Tile story
Drain Tile story
If a storm will tell you the foundation is bad and that you need a new one, then isn’t a storm a form of mercy.
Maybe God is allowing a storm to come into your life so you realize you weren’t building it around him.
DO YOU LEARN FROM YOUR STORMS? ARE YOU LETTING GOD DO SOMETHING INSIDE OF YOU AFTER THE STORM COMES?
Hurricane Katrina (Category 5, third largest hurricane to make landfall in the US)
$81 Billion dollars worth of damage done to the city and over $150 Billion done in Mississippi and Louisiana
Over 1800 people were killed
The city was setup for a category 3 so the levees didn’t hold up.
%80 of New Orleans was under water.
They spent of 15 billion dollars repair and preparing levees and giant flood gates for the next storm.
HURRICANE IDA - (Very strong storm, Category 4)
26 people died
When everything comes crashing down are you trying to rebuild yourself on the same foundation or are you entrusting yourself to God and his way and his foundation?
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The anchors connects you to the Foundation
The anchors connects you to the Foundation
When a house is built you attach the home to the concrete foundation by the means of anchors. These are bolts that are infused into the concrete and stick out so you can drill holes into your sill plates and anchor them to the concrete.
Those bolts are what make it so the house doesn’t blow away in the storm. They are embedded into the concrete and as the concrete hardens it makes it so they can’t move. It would take an act of God for them to get pulled out.
23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Jesus was with his disciples in a boat and a storm rises and begins to toss the boat around.
These are trained fishermen, men of the seas and the storm was so bad they thought they were dead.
But Jesus is sleeping in the boat. Jesus is taking a np while the rest are afraid of death.
They say, “Save us Lord; we are perishing” and Jesus says, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith.”
Jesus isn’t going to break down how the wind patterns work and how he said just the right phrase.
They were saved because of their proximity to the man
Jesus is the anchor that connects you to the foundation
I want to end with the disciples question.
“What man is this?”
“What man is this?”
If you want to build your house upon the rock then you must come face to face with Jesus and you must allow him to lay the foundation of your life.
So many people believe that when they die they are going to go to heaven and its based on so many weird things.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus lived in an eternal home and entered into our world, our home and our hospitality was to take hime bind him and kill him.
Jesus was the foundation, he was the cornerstone that our lives were meant to be built around.
He was the master architect whom the builders turned on and killed, it was because of my sin and your sin that he died.
Jesus entered our home and “Great was the fall of his life. He was betrayed and crucified and we made his home a grave among the dead.
What is this man? That even the winds and the waves obey him.
If you want your eternal future secure in Christ then you must build your life upon him.
You must hear what he says and do it.
How does it start?
Repenting of your sin, repent of living your life your way and building your house where you want to build it.
Putting your faith in Jesus and committing to follow him for the rest of your life.
Apply Jesus to every situation you encounter.
When you want to date that guy.
When you want to get that new job
When your boss is stressing you out at work
These are where you do.